Happy Valentine's Day
by Ocracoke0Island-Dreams
Summary: For Guitongkuri, because I really wanted to write it; AU to Redheads and Winter; one-shot: Its Valentine's Day, the day for love. And Jack Frost has planned out the entire day, and he is determined to get it right this time. Fluff. Rated T just to be safe.


**Jack POV**

It was dark out, being the early morning and the sun not yet rising. I floated in front of the bedroom window. Quietly, I unlocked and opened it, slipping inside and closing the window behind me.

Lydia's room was quiet, and cased in shadows, dimly lit by a small, orange, star-shaped plug-in nightlight. I had noticed it a little over a month so it was pretty new to her room. I had figured she had gotten it due to the encounter with Pitch; she never said it, but I could tell she was afraid of the shadows more than she had been before meeting the nightmare king herself. I smiled a bit, remembering questioning her about it. Her response had been priceless. It was a few weeks ago when I brought it up in conversation.

-_FLASHBACK-_

She was sitting at her desk working on her homework. Who knew teachers gave so much classwork nowadays. She had her back facing me while I sat on her bed. I glanced over at the nightlight, grinning slightly.

"So Red, what's with the star?"

She turned around to face me, raising her left eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?"

I motion towards the glowing nightlight, and she blushes a little.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing? I'm pretty sure that is indeed something." I felt like annoying her today.

I was succeeding. She rolled her eyes at me. "Seriously Jack, it's nothing important. It's just a nightlight, okay?"

I smiled. "Fear of the dark?"

Her face blushed red again, now a deeper shade. "No! It's just… I want to be able to get around my room at night without the big light."

"Uh huh. I've seen it at night; it doesn't give off enough light for that."

She rolled her eyes again and turned back to her desk, resuming work on her papers. I stood up and walked over to her, leaning in her chair.

"Aw, come on Red, it's not a big deal if you are. You have a right to be after what happened in December."

She bristled, not being fond of being reminded of it. "Yeah, well... Ugh, fine. Yes, I'm afraid of the dark."

I smiled.

She frowned at me slightly. "But don't tell anyone."

"Who am I going to tell?" I asked innocently. She reached up and smacked my forehead.

"Hey!"

She looked up at me smiling, and I leaned down, coming face to face with her. She nipped me on my nose, laughing. I returned the favor before sitting back up. I spun her chair around and pulled her up.

"Come on; take a break from your homework! Let's go have some fun."

_-END FLASHBACK-_

Ever since, I had tried to come and visit every night. Most nights I didn't make it in time before she went to bed, but I'd still visit, making sure she didn't have any nightmares.

I was worried that Pitch might come after her again. She was as important as any of the children, even more so. Like Jamie and Sophie, I was protective over all of them. Bunnymund helped with Sophie, he had a soft spot for her even when he called them "ankle-biters". Most nights I would sit in her chair, observing her room and sometimes reading one of her books. I wasn't very into any of her preference of literature, and usually wound up tossing the book aside after five minutes. Other nights I would have fun frosting her window, making sure it lasted until morning. But not today. Today I would do something different. Today was a special day, for the both of us.

Today was Valentine's Day, and it would be the first Valentine's Day I spent with a girl who could see me in a long, long time. And I was pretty sure that this was going to be her first one with a boy with our kind of relationship. I looked out the window, the sun finally starting to rise. I smiled and turned around to face the bed. She was still sound asleep, peaceful as she dreamed about whatever she was dreaming.

I smiled and walked over to her. I sat down on the bed, brushed away her hair, and placed my hand on the back of her neck. Her eyes opened slowly and glanced at me. She mumbled something.

"What was that?" I asked smirking. She rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. She mumbled again.

"I'm sorry but I don't speak pillow."

She sat up and smacked me with her pillow, giggling slightly. I laughed and pushed the pillow away. She looked towards the window and sighed before falling back on her bed. She yawned.

"Why did you feel the need to wake me up at the crack of dawn today?"

"Today is special."

She sat back up, rubbing her eyes. "Whats the date?"

"February 14th."

She looked at me still half asleep before turning to look across her room at the calendar.

"It's... Valentine's Day." She said quietly

I smiled, nodding. She looked at me, blushing a little.

"I'm going to guess you have the whole day planned out then. I hope you didn't forget the fact that I have school."

I chuckled, shaking my head and grinning sheepishly. "Actually..."

She laughed. "Did you seriously give us another snow day? How many is that this year? Seven?"

"The teachers would hate me if they knew me, wouldn't they?" I asked.

She giggled softly. "I honestly don't think they mind getting a break from us insane students."

"Good. Now, get dressed and get something to eat. We'll going to be out all day!"

"Wait! I don't think my mother is even up yet, Jack. How about-" I got up and walked over to the window smiling. I opened it and called on the wind. I was swept out of the room, and as the wind took me away from the house, I turned back towards her window.

"Meet me by the statue in thirty minutes then!"

I saw her head poke out, her read hair blowing in the wind.

"Thirty minutes?" She shouted.

I nodded. "Thirty minutes!" And then the wind swept me away.

* * *

**Lydia POV**

I raced towards the center of town, a piece of toast hanging from my mouth while I tried to wrap my scarf around my neck and zip up my coat. I was running ten minutes late, due to... complications at home.

Needless to say my mother was shocked to see me up so early; normally if I didn't have school I would sleep in until noon. Like any other parent would, she asked if I was feeling okay, why I was in a rush- you know, the norm. However, I could have been nicer about answering the questions. Teenage behavior caused problems, completely normal. I had gotten lectured about the importance and respecting her and somehow it turned into something about school. I zoned out after she started talking about how she got through high school. Thankfully she let it go, after the rant that lasted fifteen minutes.

Finally I could see the statue down the road, and I sprinted toward it, grabbing the toast out of my mouth and quickly finished it off. I could see Jack leaning against the statue, smiling as he watched me run up to him. I stopped in front of him, breathing heavily trying to catch my breath.

"Have a nice run?" Jack asked smugly. I glared at him, sticking my tongue out playfully.

"Oh, it was wonderful." I answered sarcastically. Once I could breathe without wheezing, he took my hand and smiled.

"Ready for a fun-filled day?"

I rolled my eyes playfully. "When am I not?"

For the rest of the day, Jack had me running all over town, and we wound up playing with a bunch of the neighborhood kids, snowball fights and all. Lunch was back at my house, where my mother had left for work. We returned outside, and spent the rest of the day with Jamie, Sophie, and their friends as their mother called me asking to keep an eye one them. I didn't mind at all.

I actually was happy Jack wasn't taking me on a huge, cliché date. I think our first and last formal date had been that one back in January. I think we were both fine with that.

Soon however, Ms. Bennett returned home, and I was free to go. It was now dark, having it be past five o'clock and the sun was already setting. Jack was smiling slyly as we walked out of Jamie's house. Now that I think about it, Jack had been relatively quiet all day. That was definitely was not like him at all.

"What's up, Jack?"

He looked at me, his smiling fading for a moment. "What do you mean?"

I shrugged. "You've been pretty quiet all day, and it's kind of worrying me. Is everything alright?"

Jack's smile returned and he started to chuckle. I raised my eyebrow at him, partially annoyed. However I didn't stay that way for long, as he took my hand.

"Come on. I have one more thing planned for today." We started walking down the sidewalk, following the route we normally take to the statue. However, we turned left on the way there. I looked at Jack.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

He grinned. "It's a surprise." I looked at him, tilting my head before he pulled us off the sidewalk and started dashing into the woods. I lost the grip on his hand and tried to run after him.

"Jack! Jack, wait up!" I huffed, watching him snake through the trees easily. I however, not being very athletic struggled to keep up. Eventually, I started to lose sight of him, and my heart started to race.

"Jack! Slow down!" I called out, getting no response. It was then I tripped over a tree root, and fell face first into the snow. After lying there for about a minute, I pushed myself up, spitting the snow out of my mouth.

"Jack? Jack this isn't funny!" I stood up, brushing myself off. "You obviously do not understand Valentine's Day!" I looked around, but the winter spirit was nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, I had no idea where I was in the forest. My foot prints in the snow seemed to disappear, thanks to Jack I supposed. I felt panic starting to rise up in me, remembering the last time I became separated from Jack in this forest. I started to run, frantically trying to find him. I stopped myself however, trying to calm myself down. What happened last time was not going to happen again.

I sighed and began to walk back in the direction from which I came. Following my messy foot prints back to where I had started running, I started in the direction from which I came. Looking around, I noticed a folded, pink slip of paper tied to one of the trees. Intrigued, I walked over and pulled it off. Opening it, I discovered words written on it in purple ink, glossed over with frost. I crack a smile as I identified Jack's old-fashioned cursive writing.

_Today we are going to play a game. It's called follow the notes, and its fairly simple. Each time you find a note (which all of the notes are pink by the way, easy to pin-point against the natural colors of the forest) you have to figure out the clue, and it will lead you to the next note._

_Here is the clue for this note:_

_I am tall, I am green and I am brown. I am sturdy, and I retain my needles year-round. What am I?_

I laugh, thinking of how much thought jack really put into this date. Putting the piece of paper in my pocket, I became focused. The obvious answer being a pine tree, I look up at the tree line, trying to find where one might be. It is not long before I find one, and quickly race over to it, smiling. Opening it, I see once again the winter spirit's script.

_Great job, Red. ;) Here is the next clue:_

_ Walking sixty paces northwest, stopping halfway is where I am. I am hard, solid, and a boring shade. I am where you shall find the next pink slip._

I frown a little trying to remember which direction is northwest. As if the wind heard my thoughts, I felt a strong breeze push me in the correct direction. The smile returns to my face, and I quickly take the sixty steps before coming across a large pile of stones, which on one there is a pink note, just as promised. Slipping the previous note into my pocket, I grab the new one.

_How'd you do that without a compass? I'm impressed. ;D _

_ Clue: I can be used in many ways. For hunting, for fishing, for crafting, and for heat. You will find me near the place where there are two skies, two sets of stars and two moons; and soon, two hearts._

I felt myself begin to push before giggling slightly. Jack was hardly ever that sweet, and it felt weird, but in a good way. Walking with a slight bounce in my step, I headed to the lake.

After arriving at the lake, I quickly searched for a stick or branch that would be long enough for all of the tasks listed. I noticed the moon was behind clouds now, shadows falling over the lake. However, I was not afraid, I felt safe, Jack wasn't going to make that mistake twice. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary; the only thing really jumping out at me was the fact that the most light was shining on the lightly-frozen lake.

Looking near the rocks that bordered the lake, I spotted one with a bright pink, heart-shaped paper tied to it. I had to climb to get it, nearly falling onto the lake once or twice, and I wasn't in the mood for a wet trip into the cold water. Once I had it in my grasp, I thankfully made it back to the bank, leaning against the cool rocks as I untied the note, which took longer than expected due to the length of the string, and opened it.

_I see your eyes aren't just pretty things for me to look at. I'm happy you spotted it before the water washed it away. ;)_

_ Now, the next note is tricky. First, use the string that was attached to this note and tie one end to the end of the stick. Once done, create a loop in the other end of the string and climb the rocks. Up at the top there will be further instructions._

Rolling my eyes playfully, I tied the long string accordingly and I made my way back up onto the rock with the stick firmly in my hands. Upon reaching the top, I spotted a blue piece of paper already unfolded and held down by two stones. Holding the stick in my hands, I leaned over the little note.

_Step 1: Lay on your stomach facing the edge, crawling as close to it as you can._

_Step 2: Dangle the string over the edge, making sure the loop at the end is touching the surface of the ice. _

_Step 3: Looking down at the ice, locate the bright blue box with an icicle hook on it._

_Step 4: swing the loop into the hook, and slowly pull the box up. On the bottom of the box is a note; Read it before opening the box! _

Raising my eyebrows curiously, I followed the directions and promptly brought the box up to me. Sitting Indian style, I held it in my hands, and I slowly examined it. It was wooden, but covered in bright electric-blue felt. It worked like one of my mother's jewelry boxes, having the hinge on one side, making the lid hard to lift without resistance. Turning it over, just like the directions said, there was one last pale pink, heart-shaped note, folded neatly in half and taped onto the bottom. I pulled it off gently, and opened the note.

_Thank you for playing the __Jack Frost is Bad at Fun Date Ideas Game__! Now, a letter from the organizer:_

_Dear Lydia,_

_I may have only started talking to you for a short time, but I feel as if we have truly connected. In all my immortal life, I have never been as comfortable around a girl as I have been with you. I'm sorry for all of our fights, our spats, and our disagreements. But I realize those are needed to make a good relationship; it'd be too boring if you never yelled at me. I think you feel the same way too. _

_I really have fun hanging out with you, no matter what we are doing or where we are. I'm sorry for the danger I have put you in by being so close to you- yes, yes I know you don't really care, I still feel bad about it. Especially the nightmare-fiasco. _

_Okay, anyways… I'd like to thank you. _

_Thank you for believing in me. You never had to believe in me, you could have ignored me that first day we spoke. But you didn't, and that means the world to me. _

_**-You may open the box now!-**_

Slowly I opened the box, and gasped softly as I saw the beautiful, blue ice-crystal necklace that lay inside.

_Is it safe to say now that we are "going steady" or whatever this generation calls it?_

_-Jack, your "Twiggy"_

_Ps: Look up._

I simply stared at the last line of the note until I heard a figure land behind me. Turning my head, I saw Jack crouching down next to me, blushing a shade of red I didn't know his skin could reach. He reached for the box, and pulled out the necklace, placing it around my neck and clasping it shut. It felt surprisingly warm against my cold skin

"S-So, um, are we?" he whispered.

I set the now empty box down gently and looked at him, trying to keep my face blank as long as I could before I rushed forward and pulled him into a hug. He felt stiff at first, surprised, but soon relaxed and returned the gesture. Pulling away ever so slightly, I smiled at the winter spirit.

"Without a doubt, frosty."


End file.
